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Afro‐descendants in Peru: Do beauty and race matter in the labor market?

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  • Francisco B. Galarza
  • Gustavo Yamada

Abstract

This is a first study about labor discrimination against Afro‐descendants in Peru. We randomly assigned Afro‐Peruvian and white surnames and photographs (subjectively beautiful, homely looking, or not photos) to 3,828 fictitious résumés, sent for unskilled, technical, and professional occupations. We find an unprecedented, sizeable beauty premium in unskilled occupations (232.5 percent), no effect of looks in technical occupations, and a beauty penalty in professional occupations (–71.3 percent). Overall, whites receive 19.37 percent more callbacks than similarly qualified Afro‐Peruvians; this racial discrimination affects only Afro‐Peruvian females, and particularly those employed in technical occupations. These results remain unaltered when we restrict the sample to those markedly “Afro” surnames. Our findings unveil different dynamics of discrimination across job categories, which tend to be overlooked by the existing literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Francisco B. Galarza & Gustavo Yamada, 2019. "Afro‐descendants in Peru: Do beauty and race matter in the labor market?," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 211-230, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:rdevec:v:23:y:2019:i:1:p:211-230
    DOI: 10.1111/rode.12530
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    Cited by:

    1. Van Borm, Hannah & Baert, Stijn, 2022. "Diving in the Minds of Recruiters: What Triggers Gender Stereotypes in Hiring?," IZA Discussion Papers 15261, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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